Sarah Ann Smith, South Sandisfield, c.1910, at the time the "oldest postmistress in the country."
Photo: Berkshire County Postal History.

---

The is the last of a three-part series derived from the memoirs of Stella Hyde Morey who lived in South Sandisfield as a precocious young girl in the mid - 1910s. Stella's transcribed 3,600-word memoirs include remarkable, detailed impressions of everyday life and people.

At the time, the South Sandisfield Congregational Chapel was the social center of the community. This charming but diminutive building is now home to the Sandisfield Historical Society. It was built in 1909, only a year after the magnificent Sandisfield Center Congregational Church burned in May 1908.

Previous installments of Stella's memoirs in The Times include her childhood recollections of farming traditions (Jan/Feb) and colorful anecdotal accounts of life back then (March). This last installment details a commemorative quilt begun by the Ladies Aid Society in 1915 to honor the clergy and lay members of the South Sandisfield Chapel who were active at the church during its formative period. Stella's comments are in italics. For context I added supportive information about selected mentioned personalities.

Stella was in possession of the quilt until 1987 when she decided to send it to an appropriate organization for safekeeping or display. Her pastor at the Congregational Church of Middletown, NY, suggested the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ in Ludlow. They were pleased to receive the historical quilt accompanied by Stella's notes and a chart with keys for the names on the quilt.

To Honor the Founders.

Stella lists and describes the church's founders. The asterisks indicate ordained ministers.

Dr. F. E. Emrich* was the head of the church in the state and came from Boston. He was quite tall for the times and had the most beautiful "shock" of snow-white hair. His eyes were blue, and his speaking voice was excellent.

W. W. Mayo, Sexton, was not paid for his job of cleaning, lighting fire, filling lamps, etc. He lived directly across the road from the church and, being the closest one, got "stuck" with the job. [W.W. Mayo's home is the c.1837 Lyman Sanford house which he owned 1909-14. Since 1995, it has been home to Terry and Marcia Ignace. Marcia performed 'sexton'-type caretaker duties for the Sandisfield Historical Society for many years.]

Mrs. S. A. Smith was a Ladies Aid (Society) member (who) donated the land on which the church was built. The new site was more central at that time. I remember her as very old and quite fragile looking. I also remember looking at her and wondering if I'd look like that. She was then in her late 80's.

Mrs. L. A. Hawley, Ladies Aid member, was also Church Society clerk. [Mary "Sarah" Hawley, schoolteacher, was clerk at the Sandisfield Center church when it burned. She saved the original register and (with others) valuable materials and furnishings which were reinstalled in the new church. Mrs. Hawley was instrumental in planning and organizing the society in South Sandisfield].

Howard Raymond Hyde, Organist played during vacations or when he was home from school or whatever. [Stella's older brother was known as "Ray." He married Lempi Riiska in Sandisfield in 1919. See Times, (Jan/Feb) 2025, Part One].

Mrs. Pattinger was a shy little person, yet she played when Ray was away or just unable to play, like the time he jumped over a stone wall into a yellowjacket nest. She was very good, and I liked her very much.

Vera E. Hartshorn, Ladies Aid, was the daughter-inlaw of a very well-known New England portrait painter [Sandisfield resident Newton Hartshorn]. See Times, March 2025, Part Two, for a good story about Vera.

Elisha A. Sawyer* This man was a tall gaunt person, clean shaven, deeply devoted to his cause and homely as a picket fence. I remember the first time I saw him behind the pulpit. I stared at him pop eyed. Then I pulled my father's coat sleeve and asked him, "Why did Abraham Lincoln shave off his beard?" I thought my poor father would burst. I also remember the looks I got from all the proper ladies in the congregation: "It's that Hyde child again!"

Circa 1905 photo of Rev. Elisha Sawyer, age 28. Little Brown Church of New Boston, Mass.

[Rev. Sawyer of Maine was called by the New Boston Congregational Church in 1916. Sawyer was the last minister at the Montville Baptist Church when it closed in 1918. Also, in that year he was elected Sandisfield Treasurer and served as Registrar before leaving town in 1920. See Little Brown Church, Part III, Chapter 18, "Married a Sea Captain"].

Mrs. Howard J. Hyde. My mother. She was a bundle of energy. Treasurer of the Ladies Aid Society, superintendent of the Sunday School and director of all the little plays and entertainment the young people had. She enjoyed working with young people.

[In 1920, Ethel Gallaher Hyde, widowed, and Stella moved to Springfield where Stella received a teaching certificate. They moved to Shelburne Falls in 1931 when Stella was appointed to the faculty of the Arms Academy. She taught there until her marriage in 1939.]

Asa Stanley Goodrich* He was a most delightful person and an advisor to the young. He served two churches, New Marlboro and South Sandisfield. [See Sandisfield Times, March 2025, Part Two, "Storms"]

S. C. Wong* was a Christian Chinese boy sent or brought here to be educated and ordained as a minister. He was a nice young man, and I enjoyed his friendship very much. He could make "magic" with paper folding and cutting. He was quick, very bright and he (always) had a smile and happy greeting. He returned to China to teach and preach. Later we heard he was killed by one of the war lords for being a Christian and a minister.

Hastings Eells* ordained and was sent to the Midwest. I do not recall that he did any war service. We heard that he rose to an important position in the church.

Chart keys: * indicates ordained ministers. "L.A." - Ladies Aid Society member. Not listed on the quilt were many young men in training for the ministry who preached there in summers.

The following presided at South Sandisfield as well as other churches in town, Sandisfield Center (SC), New Boston (NB), Montville Baptist (MB). They are the reverends Aaron Field (SC & NB); J.C. Emery (SC & NB); John Dooly (NB); Albert Knight (NB); Stephen Coldwell (NB & MB); Henry Warren (NB & MB) and Elisha Sawyer (NB & MB)

Aaron Field wrote a history of Sandisfield in 1893. J. C. Emery, MD, was a surgeon in the Union army in the Civil War. He was the last pastor of the Sandisfield Center Congregational Church when it burned in 1908. John Dooly of Monterey was the first pastor at South Sandisfield, 1909. Their biographies are included in Little Brown Church of New Boston, Mass.

The story of the fire and its aftermath and historical significance are found in Sandisfield Then and Now (2012) and in more detail in The Little Brown Church of New Boston, Mass., (2023). Copies are available at the Sandisfield Library.